Combined tie and rail gripper

ABSTRACT

The invention provides method and apparatus wherein railroad track comprised of two rails secured to a tie is moved by applying lateral force simultaneously to both one rail and the tie.

I 1 UHMQ States Patent 1 1 3,628,460

(72] Inventor Helmuth Rolf Erich Von Beckmann [56] References Cited 189 Castle Road, Columbia, S.C. 29210 UNITED STATES PATENTS QI J 2 2 m9 2,696,971 12/1954 Philbrick 104/2 2 e t d 3,299,833 1/1967 Stewart 1' 104/7 I e 3,486,461 12/1969 Plasser etal. 104/11 Primary Examiner-Anhur L. La Point COMMNED TIE AND RAIL (UPPER Axsislant Examim'r Richurd A. Bertsch I Claim, 2 DIIWIIIB Figs. Attorney-Smart and Biggar [52] U.S.Cl 104/8 [5 l] Int. Cl E0lb33/02 ABSTRACT: The lnventlon provldes method and apparatus [50] Fleld of Search l04/28,67,l32, wherein railroad track comprised of two rails secured to a tie is moved by applying lateral force simultaneously to both one rail and the tie.

I Mfl/ 39 F1: o 1 3O l I I I [l1 *2? l1. I Y 29 28 o 31 37 36 34 27 PAIENTED M821 I971 352 A INVENTOR HELMUTH R. E. VONBECKMANN ATTORNEYS comma!) TIE AND nan. GRIPPER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for laterally moving railroad track which track comprises rails secured to ties.

Machines have been developed for movement along a track and for determining the accuracy of the lateral alignment of the track and then correcting any errors in alignment at that point. Such equipment comprises detection means for determining the required and actual location of the track and means for moving the track laterally to correct any inaccuracies. Hitherto, the means for moving the track have grasped one or both rails of the track and moved the track bodily by applying a lateral force to the gripping means and the rails to move the track. It has been found with this apparatus that, although the gripping means moves the rails to the correct location, afier removal of the gripping means, the rails tend to revert to their original location thus the apparatus fails to remove inaccuracy in track location. It is found that this effect is particularly marked where the original error was small and the required movement of the track was small. It would appear that this failing on the part of earlier apparatus was due to relative movement between the rail and the tie and/or resilience in the rail itself. This relative movement and/or resiliency in the rail tended to return the rail to its original position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide improved apparatus for laterally moving railroad track.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved method of laterally aligning railroad track.

It is an object of this present invention to provide an apparatus and a method in which the tie and the rail are gripped and moved together as one unit.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method in which the lateral moving force is applied to both the rail and the tie.

According to the present invention there is provided in a method of laterally aligning railroad track having a pair of rails secured to a tie the steps of applying lateral transmitting means to at least one rail and a tie and applying a lateral force simultaneously to both the rail and the tie through the load transmitting means. Preferably the rails and the tie are locked together as a rigid unit and the lateral force is applied to the unit.

The invention also provides, in railroad track aligning apparatus having a main frame movable along the rails of the track and traclt moving means for laterally moving the rails and tie secured thereto, the improvement wherein the track moving means includes load transmitting means engageable simultaneously with at least one rail and a tie and means for simultaneously applying a lateral force to the rail and the tie.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention is shown by way of example in the accompanying somewhat diagrammatic drawings in which:

FIG. I is a general side elevation of track aligning apparatus of the track embodying the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a section on line II-II of FIG. I showing the embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. I there is shown track aligning apparatus I comprising running wheels II running on a track 12. Mounted at the forward end of the apparatus are track lifting means in the form of magnets 13. Mounted on the apparatus 10 between the magnets 13 and forward pair of wheels II is track moving means 9. Such an arrangement is conventional.

Turning now to FIG. 2 there is shown the tracking moving means 9 of FIG. I. The apparatus I0 comprises a main frame member IS on which the wheels II are mounted. As shown in FIG. 2, the track contains a pair of rails Id and Ida secured by pins to a tie Id.

Secured to the underside of the frame I3 is a cylinder 20. Slidable within the cylinder 20 is a piston 21. Rigidly secured to the piston 21 are laterally extending piston rods 22 and 23. The piston rods 22 and 23 have their ends remote from the piston 2I pivotally connected to a load member 2d. Load member 24 is of a length to extend laterally over substantially the whole length of the tie I6.

As shown in FIG. I tie engaging members 25 and 2d are secured by first ends pivotally connected to respective ends of load member 24. The tie engaging members each have a surface for contacting an end of the tie Id. Double acting cylinders 29 and 30 are pivotally connected between the tie engaging members 25 and 26 and the load member 2d.

Secured to the undersurface of the load member 24 in a position to be located immediately above the rails Id and Ida are lugs 31 and 32. Rail engaging members 33 and 3d of armate form have first ends pivotally secured to the lugs 3I and 32 and second ends having rail engaging surfaces. The rail engaging members are of a length and shape to extend from the lugs 31 and 32 about the heads of the rails to contact the webs of the rails. Secured to the second ends of members 33 and 3d are first ends of connecting links 33 and 3b. The other ends of the links 35 and 3d are pivotally connected to the end of a piston rod 37 of a piston 38 which runs in a cylinder 39 formed by a bore in the load member 2d. The cylinder 39 is a double acting cylinder and serves to place the said second ends of the members 33 and into and out of contact with the rails Id and Ida.

The cylinders 29, 3t) and 39 are connectable by conduit and valve means not shown to a common source of hydraulic fluid under pressure. The cylinder 20 is connectable by conduits not shown to another source of hydraulic fluid under pressure. This second source is controlled by the alignment detection means to move the tracks laterally.

In the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. I and 2 the apparatus 10 stops at a position on the track I2 in which the tie engaging members 25 and 26 are in alignment with the ends of the tie 16. The cylinders 29 and 30 and 39 are then connected to the source of hydraulic fluid under pressure to urge both the tie engaging members 25 and 26 into engagement with the ends of the tie I6 and simultaneously to urge the rail engaging members 33 and 34 into engagement with the webs of the rails Id and Ida. In this condition the rails Id and Ida and the tie 16 are locked together as a rigid unit. The detection means in the apparatus I0! is then actuated to deter mine the location of the rails Id and Ida and to determine whether that location is in correct alignment with the remainder of the track being surveyed. If the detection means determines that the rails Id and Ida are not correctly located, the track lifting means I3 are actuated to bring the track to its desired elevation. This also takes the weight adjacent the forward end of the apparatus I0. Then the second source of hydraulic fluid under pressure is applied to the appropriate side of the cylinder 20 and a lateral aligning force is thereby applied through the load member 2d and links 33 and 2'7 or 3% and 28 simultaneously to the tie I6 and the rail Ida or the rail Id.

When the detection means determines that the rails Id and 14a have been moved to their correct location, tamping is caused to take place to keep the tie in the correct location. When tamping has been completed the first source of hydraulic fluid under pressure is applied to the opposite sides of the pistons in the cylinders 29, 30 and 39 and the gripping means 23, 26 33 and 3d are disengaged from the tie and the rails. The apparatus may then be moved on to the next point at which rail location is to be determined.

In the embodiment of FIGS. I and 2, the use of a hydraulic cylinder 20 and its associated piston M has been described for applying the lateral moving force to the rails and the tie. It will be understood, however, that the hydraulic unit 20, 2I could gaging clamp means mounted on the load member and movable with respect thereto into clamping engagement with each of the rails of the track; tie end clamping means mounted on the load member and movable with respect thereto into abutting clamping engagement against each end of a tie to lock the tie therebetween; and means for moving the load member transversely of the frame whereby to move rails, locked tie and load member as a rigid unit transversely of the frame.

i l i '0! It 

1. In railroad track aligning apparatus comprising a main frame movable along the track and track moving means mounted thereon for laterally moving the track, the improvement wherein the track moving means includes a transverse load member mounted on the frame; jack means operable between said load member and said main frame to transversely move said load member relative to said main frame; rail engaging clamp means mounted on the load member and movable with respect thereto into clamping engagement with each of the rails of the track; tie end clamping means mounted on the load member and movable with respect thereto into abutting clamping engagement against each end of a tie to lock the tie therebetween; and means for moving the load member transversely of the frame whereby to move rails, locked tie and load member as a rigid unit transversely of the frame. 